Soren
by parapacal
Summary: The untold story of Percy Jackson. Soren is Percy's best friend before Annabeth. Even when he meets Annabeth he favors her. Her story has been rejected from an occurrence in the fifth book. Please review! Sorry that I haven't posted much FF had an error.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Chiron Goes Academic

The year that I turned thirteen was a year I'd never forget. I was finally going to be a teenager, I might actually convince Chiron that I was mature enough to be granted a quest, and I found out that I had a cousin that was closer than I thought.

It was September Second, 2005 and I just entered the sixth grade. My job was to supervise Grover Underwood, gods what a satyr. Last Keeping job he didn't do so well. Let's just say that someone died, and people weren't too happy. Let me introduce myself before I tell you any details. I'm Soren Wildwood. My birthday is August twenty-first. See, I'm a half-blood. Half human half god. What god you ask? We'll get to that later. Somewhere in Manhattan, don't ask me where, laid a school named Yancy Academy. It was basically a school for troubled rich kids whose their parents didn't have time to deal with. Am I troubled?...sort of. Am I rich?...no. Dyslexic and diagnosed with ADHD I fit in perfectly. Grover and I were assigned here to look for other half-bloods like me. Little did I know that my roommate would be one. And you're probably wondering why a twelve year old and not someone older? Where I live, age doesn't matter, it's how long you've lived there. And I've lived there the longest. Where is _There_? As I said with my parent, we'll get to that later.

_Room 205, no, no, no! 206, or is it 207? Stupid dyslexia! Anyway I'll just ask Grover._ Yeah, this is what I was thinking on a possibly life-threatening adventure.

"Hey Grover what number is this?" I said completely annoyed that I couldn't read properly.

"That is room number 135." He replied

_Boy was I off. _I thought. Of course Grover could read and I was close to him, I was his supervisor. I barged in the door and helped Grover in a no-nonsense way. Put his clothes away, make his bed, and he arranged his backpack. I didn't even notice the other boy in the room.

"Hey," the mystery boy said.

"Hi," Grover replied for me.

"Hey, you, over there," he called out. "I didn't know that they had co-ed dorm rooms."

_Lie Soren LIE! _I thought. "Uh… actually I'm in the girls wing…where I'm supposed to be. Grover is uh…my bro…ther. Anyway. Uh…my name is…Soren.. Grover has a different last name because he's…my…stepbrother.

"That's cool. Well, I'm Percy Jackson. I guess you're in sixth grade too."

"Yep. So how'd you get into Yancy?" I questioned him. I really wanted to know.

"Oh, well, it's not that bad. I just can't stay in one school for over a school year. I always get expelled and most of the time it's either an accident or not my fault."

"That's too bad," I said. I gave Grover a panicked look. Expulsions every year. One of the signs that he might possibly be a half-blood.

"So, what's your name?" Percy asked Grover.

"Oh, I'm Grover Underwood. I'm Soren's…brother"

I didn't know how long Grover could pull this off without spilling. He was always a terrible liar.

"So, I guess you guys are like rich kids right?" Percy said.

"You could say that. I mean you probably are too." I was beginning to get nervous around him.

"Not really." He answered."My mom had trouble paying the tuition. Only if my stepdad would spend his paychecks on something besides beer and other stuff."

Sign two, missing parent. He might actually be a half-blood. I wonder if Grover is picking all the signs up or if he's just staring at the Diet Coke can on the nightstand by Percy's bed. I gave him a nudge to see if he was paying attention. He was. The lunch bell rang, and I didn't have to worry about extra reading since it was only Saturday and classes start on Monday. As we filed through the hallway my head cleared from all the worries from earlier today.

There. Is. A. Menu. Gods why does everything revolve around READING! I hate it. It looks like that Percy kid was having trouble too.

"Hey, Percy, having trouble with the menu?" Did I ask? I really shouldn't have asked.

"Yeah, I'm dyslexic, doesn't really help with the reading thing. Can you help me?" And he asked me the question I couldn't help him with.

"No, I'm dyslexic too. I have to ask Grover to read it for me." I replied.

Sign number three. He's dyslexic. Most half -bloods are. This is starting to get fishy. I have to tell Grover.

"Don't tell me," I scoffed, "You have ADHD too!"

"Actually, yes, I do." He was beginning to get suspicious. "How do you know?"

"Well…uh…I have it also." I was freaking out while Grover stood in line completely unaware.

Sign number four. He has ADHD. That's his battle reflexes. I was almost one hundred percent sure that Percy was a Half-blood. Grover really needs to know. I waited until we sat down at the table and asked Grover if I could talk to him.

"Grover!" I hissed.

"What? That was a perfect enchilada waiting for me to bite it!" he was really annoyed now.

"It's about Percy. He told me he was dyslexic. Had ADHD too." I was shaking.

"So you're saying that Percy is a Half-blood. I'm not surprised. He has a really strong scent. At first I thought he was friends with one because the smell was diluted a ton. But now that you mentioned the signs. Oh gods! Soren listen to me! He had a strong scent! As strong as yours or Thalia's!"

I cringed. The sound of Thalia's name made me sick. Thalia died on Grover's first job. She was my sister. I put the pieces together. Stronger scent means bigger god. Bigger god means…one of the big three! By the way, the Big Three are the three brothers that control the main parts of the Earth. Those gods were Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. But, they swore not to have any more children after World War Two because their children were too strong. So basically if my dad had obeyed the rules, Thalia and I wouldn't have been born. This is bad, really bad. That means if I'm here, and he's here. Monsters would appear. No rhyme intended. I started hyperventilating. Then everything went black. When I woke up I was staring right into the face of Chiron. What was he doing here? I felt like I was going to pass out again, but I forced myself not to. This was starting to be too much for me.

"Chiron?" I called. "what are you doing _here_?"

"Soren," he replied. "Grover gave me the call about Percy. And also, while I'm here, my name is Mr. Brunner. Anyway, Grover started worrying after you passed out so he IMed me. I came here because we can't have a repetition of last time can we Grover?"

He stared Grover in the eyes and Grover started nervously bleating.

"Wait" I said. "Mr. Brunner? Are you teaching here Chiron?"

"Yes, I will be your Latin teacher for the rest of the year so I can keep an eye on Percy. And if anything strange happens that the mist covers up for the rest of the students but not for Percy, I need you to mask it even more with the mist like I taught you, and if that doesn't work, I need you to lie. That goes for you too Grover. I'm counting you responsible when I can't be there with Percy. Do you understand?

"Yes sir." Grover and I said in unison. Good, more lying for Grover.

Percy was wondering where we were. We promised to hang out with him. And we were late. I wonder how many late nights with Chiron we could pull off without too much of his suspicion.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

The Year Goes by in a Flash until Something Important Happens

The rest of the year was excruciating and fast. Then… the field trip. The art museum. What could possibly go wrong at an art museum? Evidently, a lot! We were bused to the museum, then Chiron started talking about a stele. Blah blah blah. Well then he started asking Percy questions about Kronos and all that jazz and I kind of drifted off. Next thing I know, it's lunch. That klepto girl in our homeroom threw all her lunch at Grover on the bus here and she ended up pick pocketing tourists for food and fun. All she found to eat were some mints and a suspicious looking piece of gum. Some other people noticed her. Hahahahah! Glancing over to Percy and Grover, I saw Percy staring wistfully up the street. Nancy, the kleptomaniac girl, came over to Percy and started harassing him. I was about to punch her in the face. Next thing I know, the water in the fountain we were sitting by grabbed Nancy and pulled her in. Not good. Our math teacher, Mrs. Dodds, came over and was comforting Nancy. She had about a D+ in math, and was Mrs. Dodds star student. That woman was NOT human.

"Now honey," Mrs. Dodds said.

Percy cut her off before she could finish. "I know, a month erasing workbooks."

She said something to Percy that I couldn't make out, and led him to the museum. She was fast. She got to the entrance before he took three steps. Once they left, Chiron came up to me with a concerned look on his face. I knew what to do. We entered the building, and saw the most horrible thing that you could imagine on a junior high field trip. You know what it was? A kindly one. And she was about to attack Percy. If I was correct also, the kindly one was Mrs. Dodds. If we didn't act fast, Percy would be slashed to ribbons. Quickly, Chiron clicked his pen and tossed it to Percy. Ah the old pen-into-sword-trick. I thought he was done for. But, he swung the sword and turned Mrs. Dodds to sand. Suddenly, Chiron told me to leave and try to mask it with the mist. It totally didn't work. Percy was dumbfounded. He started freaking out. If we didn't act quick he would go into shock. Gods know what would happen. I ran over to him as fast as I could and gripped him hard trying to sooth him. If he would just CALM DOWN! I didn't know what else to do, so I told Chiron and Grover to shut their eyes and punched Percy in the gut, hard. Wait, he didn't tell you that in his book…he's such a baby, but he calmed down. Percy started babbling and I told him to shut up.

"What the heck," Percy yelled. "Why did you p-p-p-punch me?"

"It was the only way to calm you down!" I retorted.

After that I told him a very believable story about how he passed out. I told him he didn't know where he was because he didn't remember most of it and started going into shock and the only way to bring him to terms was to punch him because everything else didn't work. He looked at me with disbelief. Man, it didn't work. Chiron left in the mess of it all, and Grover and I were exchanging some worried looks. We led Percy outside. When Nancy Bobofit hat to ruin it all.

"I hope Ms. Kerr whipped your butt Percy." Why did she have to say that? Percy didn't believe much in the first place and now he has to take in even more! I explained to him, for I knew the story because I conjured it up in the mist, that Ms. Kerr had been our pre-algebra teacher since Christmas. He still didn't believe me, and I lie as good as the Hermes cabin back at camp, and let me tell you, they are some top-notch liars. And if he didn't believe me, he would definitely didn't believe Grover, the worst liar in the universe.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

They Make us Read…And Then Some

Exams rolled around and, of course, I was freaking out. Somehow, I maintained straight A's all year, but I didn't know what I would do under the pressure. Enough about me, Percy was going berserk. It was quite a show watching him rant rave over exams. He still gave me funny looks, even though I punched him about a month ago. In that month, he got expelled, and I was kind of relived. Grover and Percy were supposed to be studying later, and Chiron wanted to squeeze in a meeting. Little did I know that he would actually show up in his true form, a centaur. We were expressing our worries about Percy when we heard a noise. I didn't figure out until later that the noise was Percy himself.

The next day, during the Latin exam (which I managed to ace). _Says the girl who's been fluent in Ancient Greek and Latin since she was seven. _That was Percy. He's been around during some points of my book writing. All I've been walking around with for a couple of days was a computer that is in Ancient Greek, even the keys! Anyway, back to the story. Percy was called up to Chiron, and they had a conversation that I couldn't make out. The next thing I knew, Percy was storming out of the door.

The bus ride home was a very depressing one. I wondered what Percy was going to do without us. Turns out he agreed to let us walk him home when we got off. He mentioned the Kindly Ones and all he knew. The bus broke down in the middle of the interstate. Then, as Percy has probably told you already, we saw the Fates. I was shaking, so was Grover. _SNIP! _They. Cut. The. Yarn. I started freaking out. I started shoving Percy on the bus. Grover had the same idea. Eventually, the bus was fixed, and we headed home. Well, when Grover gets scared, he usually has to go to the bathroom really bad. I saw Percy heading up the street, about to abandon me and Grover.

"Whoa! Where do you think you're going?"

"Home, why?" he replied.

"Because I still get to walk you home." I snapped.

"Grover." Percy pointed to the bathroom.

"He'll make it. Just let me walk with you."

The walk to Percy's apartment wasn't bad. But then we met his stepdad. Gross.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Strange Happenings**

Percy's stepdad was the most disgusting person I've ever seen. He was sucking down beer and pretzels as fast as a grown man could. I stared with disgust as he waddled over to me. His breath smelled like stale cigars, and my eyes were burning. He made Percy deal out cash from the taxi ride here.

"Humph. Is this your little girlfriend Percy?" his voice was filled with sarcasm. I thought of several things I wanted to say, but judging that Percy wasn't talking, I gave him a stare and he looked away with anger. We hurried to his bedroom which looked like a landfill more than a bedroom. I started throwing stuff away in a garbage bag I found in a corner of the room. He thanked me as soon as I heard a sing-song voice flood the apartment. His mother entered Percy's bedroom and looked at me with kindness. I have never been looked at that way before. I mouthed that I was from camp, and she seemed to understand.

"Who is this Percy?" his mother said.

"This is my friend Soren, we were on the same bus, so we just took a taxi here," Percy seemed elated, his mother must be a lovely person. Did I just say that?

"Well, I should get going, long way to Long Island," I started heading for the door.

"I was planning to go to this cabin by the beach, and it just happens that it's in Long Island," she was being so kind I was sort of overwhelmed. My guard was up, because when you are a demigod, kindness usually equals death.

So, she knew where Camp Half-Blood was. That's expected. Percy's father must have told her everything. We waited about an hour and we were heading for Long Island in an old Camaro. The car ride wasn't so bad, it started to storm, so she said that I would have to tell my parents that the weather kept me from going. She knew how to act, that's for sure. There was an extra room in the cabin, so I stayed there. I woke up in the middle of the night to a banging on the door. All three of us in the cabin rushed to the door. Mrs. Jackson waved us to the side, and when she opened the door, it was Grover. He was yelling random things, like 'MONSTER!' and 'HURRICANE!'. We grabbed our things, and headed for the Camaro. It was pretty uncomfortable in the back seat with two other people. I kept glancing behind us, and I couldn't believe what I saw.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**The Monsters are Coming! The Monsters are Coming!**

A Minotaur? That was really bad. Percy was confused, and I was trying to give Mrs. Jackson directions to Camp Half-Blood. I hear a screech, and we're in a ditch. The car, like, exploded. I was rushing to get out, my shoulder was throbbing. And there was only one way to get out of the car without being fried. The new sunroof wasn't going to work, considering that the ends were sizzling. Grover kicked the door out. And we piled out onto Half Blood Hill. I started running up, but Percy was trying to drag his mom along. I ran down the hill and started to call Percy up. He really didn't want to leave his mother. He didn't know that his mother couldn't enter, that it was physically impossible.

"Percy!" it started to rain and I was getting drenched. The Minotaur was gaining and if he didn't hurry up soon, he was going to die. He dragged his mom up the hill. As they reached the top, the beast grabbed a hold of Mrs. Jackson. He crushed her into golden light. I had never heard of something happening like that. Percy broke down and started charging the monster. I was yelling at him. Grover seemed to have gotten hurt because he was on the ground bleating 'food'. I picked him up, and tossed him on the other side of Thalia's tree. Percy was running up the tree, and jumped on the Minotaur's back. He got a hold of its horn, and stabbed it. The monster turned to dust like Mrs. Dodds. He passed out, and I ended up carrying both of the boys down to the big house. They weren't the lightest loads around.

I knew I was going to be in trouble. Percy almost got killed. I would be yelled at, but Grover would have to take all the blame. Percy was hurt pretty bad. We couldn't give him ambrosia and nectar until he came around. I had been gone for a while, so I decided to catch up with Annabeth.

"Hey girl!" I said when I was leaving the infirmary.

"Oh my gods! I heard you were back! I am so happy!" Annabeth was elated. I couldn't wait to show her Percy. She had been working at the infirmary lately, and she hadn't seen him yet.

We entered the building, and lo and behold, there was Percy. He looked terrible. Annabeth and I each took one hour shifts tending to him. We would have made Grover do it, but he was busy getting chewed out by Mr. D to help around. Percy talked in his sleep, and we made fun of all the things he said. Some of them were more serious, and Annabeth had questions.

"So, what happened to his mother?" Annabeth confronted me by the doorway.

I told her the whole story of Yancy and everything else that went on when I was gone. Sometimes she laughed, sometimes she got a very stern look on her face. I knew she would interrogate Percy later when he was stable. We heard something, and turned around. Percy was waking up. Annabeth rushed to the table next to his cot and started shoving ambrosia pudding down his gullet. I tried not to laugh. We could tell Percy wasn't feeling too great, considering we couldn't understand what he was saying. He slurred his words too much and it was like talking to a baby. I told them I had to leave, I had a sword fighting lesson to teach. When you arrive at camp, Chiron doesn't waste time getting you back into the routine. And of all people, I had to teach the children of Aphrodite, A.K.A, the plastics. One girl chipped her nail polish and started bawling, another refused to hold a sword because it didn't match her outfit. I had about enough when it was my turn to go help Percy. Thank the gods.

I entered, and Percy wasn't there. Grover was there, and he told me he was on the back porch with Mr. D. I ran back there and found them talking. Percy got up, and left. He ran into me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Hey stud," I said "Killing a Minotaur doesn't give you a right to be cocky."

We laughed and Annabeth came along with us, we told Percy all about camp. He seemed confused. He really didn't believe us.

The walk down to cabin eleven was a long and silent one. We finally reached the cabin crammed with kids.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**House of Pick Pocketing**

A cabin half full like usual is fine. A cabin overstuffed with thieves is anything but fine. Shoving my way to the back of the cabin, I made my way to Luke. Luke was a senior camper. He is the head counselor of the Hermes cabin. I swatted away hands jutting out trying to slyly reach into my pockets. I punched one kid. Percy was staring at me. His body language implied that he was a little scared of me. I rolled my eyes.

"Hey Luke," there were just too many people here. I could barely hear his reply over the chatter of thirty something kids all trying to get everyone's attention.

"What up? My best friend finally back from school? How was it?"

"It was like being regurgitated by Hades, and swallowed back up again. So, pretty normal I guess. Anyway, we have a new camper . His name is Percy Jackson." I treated Luke as my brother. I came here a year before he did, but by the time he made it, I was still in the Hermes cabin, trying to find out who my dad was.

"Determined, or Undetermined?" Luke was all business-like now. I could feel the whole cabin's stare on me. They didn't want another person in here. I don't blame them. They were starting to run out of room on the floor.

"Undetermined…" Everyone in the cabin groaned and I gave them my death stare. Every. Single. One. I told Percy that he would be staying here for a while, and that Luke would answer his questions. When all that was over, I noticed Annabeth in the doorway, waiting for me.

"Man, the gods need to start claiming their children. It's starting to get crowded on the Hermes cabin standards." I was annoyed. Those Hermes kids maybe have taught me to pick-pocket, lie, and have given me things, but they lacked discipline, and parents.

"Dang, you're telling me. I've talked to Chiron. He doesn't know what to do about it." She seemed completely uninterested in the conversation.

"Look lets go. Dinner's in about twenty minutes. If we don't get back soon, there'll havebe hungry campers not knowing what to do."

Annabeth and I dragged Percy out of the cabin to talk to him. He looked pretty down.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry about your mom. It happens to the best of us." I was trying to console him.

"Like who?" he spat. I knew he thought that I was as ignorant as a bull.

Annabeth gave him an evil eye. She knew that he had crossed a line.

"Like me!" I screamed. "When I saw your mom, she seemed so open and nice! I wished I had a mom like that! My mom never cared for me and my siblings! I ran away before my sister, and my brother died! My sister ran away, and when she got here, she was killed. She's now the pine tree on the hill. So I don't want you moping around about your loss, when you haven't lost anything compared to most of the kids around here!" I was tearing up, and Percy looked guilty. He walked up and gave me a hug, and I decked him in the stomach. Annabeth and I decided to let me blow off steam by showing Percy the rest of camp before dinner. I have MAJOR anger issues, don't I.

We ran into Clarisse on the way back to the Hermes cabin. She looked like a warthog, and smelled like one too. She was a few inches taller than me, and outweighed me by sixty pounds, but she wouldn't dare mess with me considering who my father was, Zeus.

"What do you got here? New kid? Looks like I have to do the welcome ritual."

"What do you mean Clarisse? Oh gods. Not the girls bathroom." Annabeth had fire in her eyes. She spat out those words like they were a bad taste in her mouth.

I shoved Clarisse out of the way. I wasn't in the mood to confront her. I was tired and hungry. She shoved me back and swung a punch. That was it. She was on the ground in less than a minute when Percy stepped up and said let her take me. Percy, playing martyr. I didn't like it.

Annabeth and I followed them to the girls bathroom with a bunch of her cronies. She was about to slam Percy's head in the toilet, when there was a low rumble coming from the pipes. Suddenly, the toilets were spraying gallons upon gallons of water everywhere, washing the children of Ares out of the bathroom. Annabeth and I weren't spared. When we looked up, Percy was dry. There was something about him. I don't think I was ready to admit it to myself at that time.

I sent a gust of wind through the bathroom that dried us off instantly, and headed out to see Luke. Percy was staying in the Hermes cabin. I assume you know why.

Annabeth sighed. She ran to her cabin as I ran to mine. This was very unnatural, even for Annabeth. Usually she's as chatty as the Aphrodite cabin when they see Luke smile at them. I'll ask her after the sing along/ kick off concert. The kick off concert should have started a few days ago, but since I'm usually the entertainment they rescheduled it to today. Some of the Apollo kids and I sing top one hundred hits and what not. It's all fun until I go flat and the kids I perform with give me a stare that makes me really uncomfortable. I can't help that I screw up.

Dinner rolled around. I was starving. I received several hellos from several campers. Some of them I didn't even know. It was creepy how they all seemed to know me, but I didn't know them. I guess that it's that I'm Zeus's daughter. I don't like it. Sometimes I wish I was a daughter of a less monitored god. Oh well. Dinner was as usual. I constantly glanced at the Hermes table, looking at Percy hanging off the bench. That's what you get when you stuff thirty kids on one picnic table. I'd sneak some wry smiles at him. For a while he was staring at his cup. Thank the gods that Luke explained what he needed to do. Time passed very fast at my lonely, one person table. The sing along came around; I was glad.

I made my way on stage. I heard a sea of cheers. These campers loved me. I enjoyed the exhilaration of performing. Even though I used to have terrible stage fright. I got over it…eventually. I scanned the crowd and found Percy sitting by the rest of the Hermes cabin. His head was cocked to the side, his eyes full of concentration. I heard the intro to my song and started to sing. My eyes were on Percy the whole time. He put on a little crooked smile. I knew he would like it here. The fire blazed high and bright. It was a dozen different colors at one time. Percy stood up finally and jumped up and danced around like the rest of the crowd. I grinned. The song finally ended, and I let my friend Vonnie sing next. I enjoyed the spotlight, but I like to dance in the background too. Percy's eyes followed my every move. Awe filled his gaze even though there was nothing to be awed about. That boy was crazy, but yet, so am I. Even though I've punched him and screamed at him, he still trusts me. Huh, I usually scare people off. There must be something wrong with that boy.

The solemn loneliness filled my cabin. There's a downside to being the only known living child of Zeus. I drifted off to sleep and woke up to all the activities that I would be teaching the next week, sword fighting. I met up with Luke at breakfast to go over the maneuvers and other things that we would be teaching. Percy came up to me and asked when my free time was. He said that he really didn't have any friends here his age and he wanted to hang out. I was fine with that. It turned out me, Annabeth, and Percy had the same free session of the day. We all decided to hang out in the commons by the basketball court. We separated and headed to our lessons.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**That Sword has a Mind of its Own**

The first lesson for sword fighting that week was with the Apollo cabin. They were pretty good, but they were better at archery. Luke said he'd take the more experienced campers and I could take the newer ones. I was capable of handling the older campers, but whatever. I fitted a kid that Luke said arrived three weeks ago. He was about ten, and was a lanky kid. He was slow as we parried and the other kids sparred with each other. Suddenly, the sword started flying around in his hand. The kid's face flushed and he was screaming. I could tell that he wasn't doing it. I blocked as best as I could, and it was better than _me._

"LUKE!" I screamed. "GET YOUR PICK-POCKETING BUTT OVER HERE!"

Luke rushed to the sword, but it was better than him, too. I was getting cut up and maimed. The sword dropped, and I passed out.

Last thing I remembered I was being carried to the Big House by Luke. I was covered in red liquid. _Blood, _my brain said. Percy and Annabeth were waiting on the porch for free session. They sat on the porch in an awkward position as if they didn't want to be around eachother. Then, they jumped up and ran over to me.

"What happened?" Annabeth and Percy asked. Chiron came over with a puzzled look.

Luke explained the whole thing and set me down on a lawn chair. An Apollo kid came over and started tending my wounds like it was no big deal. Some ambrosia and nectar later, I was all better. I groggily stumbled to my cabin, changed clothes, and met Percy and Annabeth at the Big House. I was exhausted. I finally made it up onto the porch, and I almost passed out again. Percy caught me and leaned me against his side so I wouldn't fall. It sounds awkward, but I was really tired and lost so I didn't resist. Annabeth looked over at me and tried to conceal a mocking grin. My head was rested on his shoulder and I was nodding off.

"Hey Annabeth. I think that we should just stay here considering that Soren looks like she just ran a marathon…or two." Percy said. Annabeth nodded in agreement, and I fell asleep.

When I woke up, dusk was falling. Percy and I were still on the wide porch steps. Percy was tenderly looking at me, his arm wrapped around my waist to help balance me. My stomach fluttered. I sort of liked it. _Ha ha! You _liked _it!_ PERCY! Oh my gods… anyway.

"Hey sleepyhead." he said.

"Hey." my voice was hoarse. I glanced down at his hand around my waist.

"Oh, sorry." He stuttered.

"Don't worry, I liked it. Percy, you're a good friend." I smiled at him, laid my head on his shoulder. Percy returned his arm around me and gave me that crooked grin of his. _*Snort* _Percy… jeeze…


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**Let's Capture Some Flags**

Thursday that week, Percy came with the rest of the Hermes cabin for a sword fighting lesson. Luke still looked worried every time I taught because of what happened earlier. He motioned me to go fit Percy with some armor and a sword while he set up the dummies and went over the day's lesson plan with the rest of the cabin.

"You look like a size three sword," I said. I grabbed one from the shed and handed it to Percy. "Never mind, it's too long. Maybe a two." I tossed it to Percy and he just stared at me. He had no idea what was going on. It took forever to fit Percy, but I finally decided on the two. I gave him some armor and sent him off to learn some basic maneuvers with Luke.

"Soren," Luke called. "Be Percy's sparring partner." I nodded my head and went over to Percy. I heard some kids whispering behind me, _Ooh, Percy's partnered up with Soren. He's so dead. She's the best swordfighter in the whole camp. _I sighed with contentedness. Percy was one of the worst swordsmen I have ever sparred with. I shouted commands at him while whacking him with the hilt and butt of the sword. I told everyone that I would be showing a demo with Percy, and everyone got silent. Snickers were wafting from the crowd. I demonstrated the disarming technique and told Percy we would be sparring until one of us pulled it off. Surprisingly, Percy was doing really well. He managed not to be hit by my blade. He took a swing, and I put more force into my fighting. I was doing really well until Percy actually succeeded in disarming me with the new move. I just stood there in awe. We tried it again and again, but I was the one to disarm him. Huh…

That Friday, I sat with Percy and Grover after a really hilarious encounter with the climbing wall. Percy had the hairs burnt off of his skin while Grover and I climbed it with ease. We talked about Grover's career, the naiads and their underwater basket weaving, the empty cabins, and the Big Three. Grover and I explained the whole WWII thing with the gods, and how I was a forbidden child of Zeus. I tensed up at that part. I choked out the story of me and Thalia, even though I was uncomfortable. I changed the subject the moment I could.

Dinner rolled around that night. We sent burnt offerings to the gods, ate the surprisingly tasty food, and Percy was sitting at the Hermes table looking longingly at the hearth. Chiron stamped his foot to get everyone's attention. Some new campers held their ears because the sound echoed through the area.

Annabeth and her campers ran through the dining hall with her campers with a grey flag that had an owl painted on it. At the same time, Clarisse and her idiot siblings ran in with a gaudy red one with a boar on it. The Zeus cabin was with the Athena, Hermes, and Apollo cabins. We armored up at one side of the dining pavilion, Percy gathering a battered up sword and shield. I pressed the jewels on my necklace, and my sword, Inferno, came out along with my shield. Percy just stood there looking at me. Annabeth yelled for us to go forward, and Percy caught up with me and Annabeth.

"Hey, got any magic items you can loan me?" My hand and Annabeth's hand reached to our pockets.

Annabeth and I explained about Clarisse's spear and where he would be stationed. Percy didn't look too thrilled. Then, Annabeth threw out her most famous line, _Athena always has a plan. _Percy looked like an idiot in his armor that was two sizes too big for him. The conch horn sounded; I ran. A few moments later I glanced back at the creek where Percy stood and saw Clarisse and her cronies ganging up on him. I chuckled to myself, and let the woods engulf me.

I returned with the flag with some kids from the Hermes cabin, whooping and yelling as we crossed the territory line, which was the creek. Clarisse was yelling trick and I doubled over in laughter. The banner turned to silver and black, the boar replaced with a caduceus and an eagle. Percy was sitting in the creek, his mouth hanging open. I ran to him along with Annabeth.

"Not bad hero." Annabeth said.

"You set me up!" Percy yelled.

"Where the heck did you learn how to fight like that?" I questioned.

Annabeth took her Yankees cap off as she shimmered into view.

"You put me here because you knew that Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke and Soren around the flank. You had it all figured out." He was getting really worked up.

"I told you," Annabeth explained. "Athena always, always has a plan."

"A plan to get PULVERIZED!" Percy yelled.

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in but…" Annabeth shrugged. "You didn't need help."

I noticed Percy's arm.

"How did you do that?" I asked

"Sword cut," Percy replied. "What do you think?"

"No. It _was_ a sword cut. Look at it." I said adamantly.

The wound was gone. There was a faint scar where it had been. My head cocked to the side as I tried to figure out what had happened. Then, it disappeared. Percy started babbling in confusion. He even tried to apologize. That's when I noticed the giant dog creeping out of the woods. I cursed in Ancient Greek and raised my sword. Annabeth yelled something to Percy as she tried to step in front of him. Annabeth was too slow. The hellhound leaped at Percy, its claws raking his back. A cluster of arrows then impaled themselves into the beast's neck. Annabeth met my gaze and a silent awareness passed between us—someone had summoned the creature from inside the camp. It turned out Clarisse had the same theory too. She started yelling things about how Percy summoned it. I snuck up behind her and hit her with the hilt of my blade.

"Your wounded Percy," Annabeth said. "Get in the water."

"I'm ok." Percy replied.

"No, you're not," I interjected. "Chiron, watch this."

Percy stepped into the creek while the whole camp pressed to get a look. The gashes on his chest were closing up. I gasped. A circle of green light appeared above his head. In the center of it there was a trident. Percy looked up, and then looked at me with confusion. I ran to my cabin, not willing to hear what happened next.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

**We Bring Four**

I watched solemnly from the steps of the Zeus cabin Percy moving into the Poseidon cabin. Percy glanced my way and I shoved my nose into a sword fighting technique book Luke gave to me. I peeked up from under the cover of the book to see Percy looking my way still. I tried my best to look uninterested, and he quickly looked down at his shoes. That whole day I heard kids gossiping about Percy. I tried to shut them up and tell them that it was no different from when I came to camp. Then I remembered that they weren't here when I arrived at camp. And when I did arrive, I was a cute six year old girl. I still taught Percy sword skills, considering that he would need them if monsters would be attracted to him even more.

"Good Percy, fifty more repetitions." Percy groaned as he went through the motions again and again.

I passed Annabeth teaching Percy about the gods and Ancient Greek. She didn't seem all there though. She muttered things about a quest that might be given to Percy. Even I heard about that. I knew that she spent most of her time here at camp trying and training to receive one. Late one night, on my way back from the pavilion with a few other campers, I saw a son of Demeter slip a newspaper article about Percy. I read it, but it took a while.

**BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER FREAK CAR ACCIDENT  
**BY EILEEN SMYTHE

Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken. The car had flopped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding.  
Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time the accident.  
Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violent tendencies in the past.  
Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play. Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline.

The number was circled. I left it there for Percy to read, and made my way to my cabin.

I rested on my bunk. My CD player that I got from the Hermes cabin played a mix CD an Apollo kid gave me. I slowly memorized the songs as I stayed up, according to the clock on the CD player, about two a.m. I fell asleep that night, sleeping dreamlessly; I was glad. When I woke up, thunder was booming across camp. It never stormed here. A bunch of campers swarmed around my cabin demanding me to explain why it was storming. I told them I didn't know when Grover stomped his way to the door and told me Mr. D needed me ASAP. He said that it was urgent and he wasn't happy. I slipped on some flip flops and ran to the big house. Percy made it there too except he was not in his pajamas. Grover entered soon after him.

"Nice PJs." Percy scoffed.

I gave him a sarcastic look, and entered the porch to find Chiron and Mr. D sitting around a table. Mr. D was dressed in his classic purple tiger striped Hawaiian shirt with a Diet Coke can in his hand. Two sets of invisible cards were hovering in the air.

"Well, well, why isn't it our little celebrity." Mr. D stared at his cards, his eyes squinted. "Come closer, and don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because your old Barnacle-Beard is your father. Gods know I didn't do it for little Soren over here."

Lightning flashed across the sky, followed closely by booming thunder—Dad.

Dionysus explained what he would do to Percy if he had his way, blah, blah, blah. Chiron countered with logical reasons why those things would be putting his position with the gods at stake. Dionysus left for a meeting at Olympus, and left all the explaining to Chiron. He told us to sit, and we obeyed. He conversed with us for a while, and then asked Percy if he was willing to accept a quest. Percy was confused and he babbled on about he didn't know what the quest was about. I clasped my hands to my face in exasperation. Percy was an idiot. Of course, he didn't know about the Oracle. Chiron calmly explained the whole feud between my dad and Percy's. My eyes were locked on his the whole time, too. Percy glanced at me, almost like he was expecting me to believe what Zeus though about him stealing the master bolt. I didn't, though. I sat calmly in my chair as Percy occasionally leaped up and yelled something. Chiron said something about the Oracle; it was time. Percy cast a nervous look at me and Grover, and we nodded encouragingly. He made his way to the attic. I paced anxiously across the porch.

Percy came down. He looked terrible, as if he was about to pass out. Chiron asked what the Oracle said. He mumbled out a few things, and I was afraid that he wasn't telling the whole story. Chiron gave him the basic plan for what he was supposed to do and where he was supposed to go. Percy looked insanely worried throughout the whole thing. They ran down the whole checklist, and it was finally time for him to pick who went on the quest. Grover was coming of course. Then, Percy made the worst assumption ever, that he would fly to the destination. I yelled at him saying that my dad would knock the plane out of the sky, he needed to stay in neutral territory—land. Annabeth shimmered into sight, taking her Yankees cap off. Chiron said that two people could accompany him, and Percy interjected that he wanted to take three: Grover, me, and Annabeth. Chiron gave him a questioning look, but said that would be fine. He told us we would be leaving this afternoon; we needed to get packing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

**Bus Goes Boom**

_Really, that's what you name the chapter…_ Percy…

I hastily ran back to my cabin to pack for the quest. Annabeth was elated about it. Her grin was a mile wide as she went to get her things. The camp store loaned us twenty golden drachmas and one hundred dollars cash. I shoved the baggie full of money into my messenger bag which already had all my things and other stuff for emergencies. Percy asked me for something, and I reached into my bag to get it. The bag looked like a messenger bag on the outside, but, with a little magic, it was turned into a space large enough to hold anything and everything you could physically need all at the same time. It weighed as much as if it was empty too. Percy got raccoon eyes as he watched the bag swallow up my arm as I reached for something. We ran into Luke on the hill as we got ready for departure. He wished us luck, and gave us some of Hermes's old shoes. They were old converse with battered wings grafted to the side. Annabeth started hyperventilating as Luke gave her a quick smile. Percy made a snide remark about capture the flag—it turned out that Annabeth allowed Luke to get the flag instead of her. Chiron met up with us to bid us well and gave Percy the stick pen that he used to disintegrate Ms. Dodds. He told Percy the name, Riptide or Anaklusmos.

We left camp exhilarated and a little jumpy. I sat back in the van Argus was driving while Percy and Annabeth were having a heated conversation about why Annabeth was always rude to Percy and why their parents weren't fond of each other. We were dropped off at the Upper East Side bus stop when me and Percy spotted the flyer with Percy's picture on it. It said: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY? He ripped it off the post before Grover or Annabeth could notice. I don't blame the boy. Percy was a little down when Grover pulled the I-can-sense-your-emotions-because-I-am-a-satyr act about why his mother married Gabe. The bus took forever to get to the station, so Grover pulled an apple from his backpack and we started playing hacky sack with it. One kick near Grover's mouth and…it was gone. When we boarded the bus, we sat toward the back. Annabeth was nervously slapping her cap against her thigh, and I looked anxiously around the bus along with Grover. An old woman dressed in a gaudy dress boarded the bus, her black…eyes…shimmering. I shifted worriedly, and nudged Grover. Two more ladies came in behind her dressed very similarly. They sat near the front, blocking the walkway with their legs. We all registered that all of the Furies were on the bus. Annabeth suggested that we could climb out the windows, but they wouldn't open. The three Furies decided they needed to go to the bathroom, so they headed down to the bathroom at the back of the bus.

"Percy, take my cap. It's you they want not us." Annabeth said.

Percy reluctantly took the cap and slipped it on before the Furies could notice. The Furies could definitely smell me, considering I'm the daughter of one of the Big Three. I was getting restless wondering about Percy, when the Furies surrounded the three of us asking where Percy was. Their gravely, clipped voices made my spine tingle. They raised their whips, and Annabeth and I wielded our weapons getting ready for a fight. The bus started swerving—Percy. The bus screeched to a halt, sending all the passengers forward. It bought us some time. The doors opened as the passengers stampeded to get out. The monsters cracked their whips at us while we were shouting in Ancient Greek at them and doing the best we could to fend them off. Percy shimmered into view. The Leader, Mrs. Dodds, turned toward Percy as if she was going to give him a detention, her tongue flitting in and out of her mouth like a snake's. Percy uncapped his sword and headed for the Furies. After an action-filled scene in the bus, we finally managed to get rid of two the Furies. Thunder shook the bus, and I screamed for everyone to get out . A fat man in a busy Hawaiian shirt snapped a picture of us with a disposable camera…crap.

"Our bags!" Grover yelled.

_BOOOOM!_

The windows shattered as lightning tore a hole into the roof of the bus. Ms. Dodds was calling for reinforcements. We plunged into the woods. I still had my messenger bag.


End file.
